The Dickinson press., 1887-10-01
CASE WHERE A SUPERSTITION
SQUARED WITH THE FACTS.

A Story of the Time When Thing Had
just Begun to boom in the Old Tue.
lumnc ~Camp-"One Colin Short ut the
Funeral.
ut was at the old Tuolumnc camp when
Things hal Just begun to loom. A few rich
strikes that some of the lucky ones had made
had encouraged the rest of us to hang on.
The Jumping .lcloslnrlat claim had got in
some of the new tangled powder and was
blasting away for all that was out. Most of
us looked asIancc ut the new powder. and
when Uncle Billy Grimes propllcsird that the
camp wonld lie blown up with the stuff or
get poisoned with its fumes, as his partner
had at Red sulch, we made the Jumping
Jehoshaphat boys move it out of harms way.
So when IL blast went off one fine morning,
when nobody was expecting it, and laid out
five of the hest men in tho camp, we were all
able to say, i told You So ms we rushed up
to the claim.
"Ihe camp was intensely excited, for tl,cs..
were the frs, deaths since we came in, not
counting two sluice robbers and IL horse thief
that we had lung for luck. We stood off Il
little bit, for no one hut the five boys in the
pit knew whether there were half IL dozen
more to go off. But we sailed in pretty soon
and hauled out what was left of the boys.
and it vast sight to make YOU sick. We
We're pretty badly cut up about it, and when
we had cleaned them up md laid them out
dccently i'll their cabin we went down i'll
front vt Dutch Dawes saloon, and 81 Haw-
kllls called the meeting to order.
"'Boys,' he said, in Il husky voice, we've
got our first chance to start a graveyard and
no town ever had n better. Them boys thar,
and he jerkcd his thumb over his shoulder,
would doany graveyard proud, md we ought
to start 'em oft i'll style. It's Il rotten shame
II we don't give 'em the best send off the
markets got, and d-n the EXPENSE
I'VE chccred the sentiment, in spite of the
occasion, and he continues: What we want
to do is to send for collins. Amy man that's
Ill favor of this sentiment, can just walk up
here and plank down his dust
NO one could refuse this appeal, and the
needed sum was soon raised. An order was
written to the Simisonvillc undertaken and
given to the driver of the down stage, with
the verbal message:
III they amt here by to-morrer night a
committee of Their boysll III down thar ter
find out why, an they'll need their collins ter
hum.'
About sunset next evening n wagon
turned OFF the main road aud came into
camp. 1t brought the collins. They We're
unloaded, ono after the other, and sllonc with
all tho splendor that fresh varnish could give
them.
"'Thar's style for ye," said Hawkins, with
pardonablc pride. slow the boys would en-
JOY 'cm if they We're here. BY the Lord
Harry. he shouted, suddenly, there's six
here. Who ordered six
Jim Davis was the man that wrote the let
ter. He turned deathly pale and said: sly
-, there's bad luck coming. There's a
sixth man in this crowd. l ordered five
collins, an that extra one hasn't come for
nothing
There was Il sudden silence, and the most
of the crowd turned as pale as Jim. 1t did look
mighty plausible that that there coffin was
looking for some one, and each man felt nn
uncomfortable suspicion that he was the one.
The only one that was bold enough to resent
the idea was Five Fingered Jack, who had
been horn with five fingers on his left hand,
and had cvened matters up by shooting off
his thumb.
"'You're n good one, JIM he says, you're
the scholard Of the crowd, but you can't write
straight yet
"'See here said Jim, getting riled, Il ant
no scholard, but l don't knuckle down to no
man when it comes to or,lerin collins. KEEP
n copy of the letter, soft the undertaken don't
cut any shines with u.s. He pulled out the
letter, and le had written five as plain aslife.
"'That coffin has come for one of us, he
continued, an it means business. 1T stands
to reason that when n coffin travels twenty
five miles it's goin' to git its man.
1--WE gathered round, looking about us
solemn rs we felt, and some of the boys kept
II looking over their shoulders suspicious like
to the cabin where the dead men lay, as
though they were afraid the night might
encourage 'em to come out an pick their
company for the next days journey.
Isl Hawkins tried to pump the fellow TINT
drove the team up to the camp, but he didn't
know anything about it. The cotl1ns had been
loaded in by the undertaken, and he brought
them up as they were given to him. So
Hawkins told us to come into Dutch Dawes,
and the boys began to get their courage out
of a bottle, i'll the natural way. AS they got
livcned up they began to joke about their
fears and recommend candidates for tho
vacant honor.
"'Mebbe it's after the Teller what stole
Simpsons horse said Five Fingered Jack, in
a sort of bantering tone. 'Ef he's ketched
he'll need it mighty bad
"The crowd laughed-all but Jim. He took
1t seriously and tried to argue the matter.
He won't git no coffin lie said. He'll be
lucky ter git buried at all. Yc can laugh all
yer a ter, but there's goin' to be six
funerals tomorrow ilstid of five
others n dead coyote n little ways up the
gulch. Mcbbe yed like ter plant him along
with the boys continued Jack, knocking
him.
Jim began to get his back up. 'Tharl
Hear that, he said. 1t was only the boot of
the mountain owl, but it's enough to give u
dead man Tie cold slivers if he's feeling a
little off color. Hear that! Eff that doesn't
mean bad luck I'm u Dutchman.'
"Somc of the boys began to look nervous
again.
"'Shet up, can't ye.' sail jack, contempt.
uously. Yc'rc wuss nor Il hoot owl ycrsclf.
A scared fool like you is q regular Jonah in
camp. Yea break it up in u week eff ye had
yer way
"'Who's a scared foolH says Jim, firing up
like a fighting cock.
"'You air. says jack.
"'Ier a LIAR says Jim.
"The boys began to climb behind boxes and
oHJ "ueic eioe luey COulu 10 SeC OUT OIL Iue
way. There had been bad feeling between
the two ever since they came into camp, and
we knew it meant business When they began
passing compliments like that. About as
soon as you could say Jack Robinson the
popping began. Tho two men walked toward
each other firing as fast as You could count.
Jim dropped to the floor. Five Fingered Jack
wavered II moment and then fell across Jim's
body.
1--WE crawled out of our hiding places to
view the remains. 81 Hawkins was the first
to get to them, and lie looked down mourn
fully as we gathered around.
"'Gad, boys he said, rcgretfully, were
one coffin short. San Francisco Post.
Neither Could Read the Writing.
a number of gentlemen were talking il
front of the Ebbitt house last evening, whel
one Of them said: That reminds ME of +,
cfDrv yybirl, Lot N,r,.;lj ,,Nc, col: 49, - A.: